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Women's Volleyball Season Review

In her third season at the helm, Amanda Logue continues to steer the ship in a forward direction. With the addition of skilled players this 2011 season, the Hawks improved statistically in several categories even though their 6-16 final record doesn’t shout progress. Playing two fewer matches than the year before, the Hawks were still able to match the win-total while almost doubling their digs/set and improving their kills/set, and blocks/set. Hilbert scored almost 2 more points per set this season than during the 2010 year and coach Logue is optimistic about the future of this team since there are no senior athletes who graduate from the program.

The Hawks opened the year 2-3 with three-set wins over Morrisville and Alfred. During the course of the season there was a five-point or less differential in 14 sets where Hilbert ended up losing the match. Conference wins were earned over La Roche (3-0) October 1 and a 3-1 match over D’Youville October 26. Oswego State and Alfred dropped matches to Hilbert in Hamburg in the middle part of the season giving the Hawks new life heading into the thick of AMCC league games.

Leading the attack this season were players from each class year. Junior Devan Jonathan earned 111 kills (1.54 k/s) with a .111 hitting percentage for the Hawks while passing for 22 assists. Sophomore Chelsea Reischuck led the team with 2.11 kills/set earning 137 kills and 214 digs while tying Jonathan with 22 service aces. Freshman Jordan Botsford tallied the second most kills (131) but led the blue and white with 250 digs (3.52 dig/set) after rotating from the outside hitter to libero to middle hitter.

Rachel Kwiatkowski, a junior middle hitter, finished the season ranked number one on the team with 31 blocks; 16 of her shut-down points were solo-swats. Shannon Memminger was the only player to compete in the team’s 75 sets during the season and she finished with the team’s best 50 service aces and hitting percentage with a .255 result (37 kills, 9 errors in 110 attempts) from the setter’s position on the floor. As the player to touch the ball typically the second hit, Memminger passed for a team-leading 498 assists and averaged 6.64 assists per set. The team’s improvement from 6.3 assists per set to 7.4 during the 2011 season indicates a combined timing and teamwork development and skill improvement by the hitters over the length of the season.

Other contributors to the team’s success were all first year, freshmen players. Kayla Lewis earned 69 kills, 189 digs and 13 blocks as an outside hitter over the course of the season. Tiara Thomas earned 21 kills and 59 digs while Samantha Robinson and Lea Church both helped where and when they could during the season.

Memminger finished her second collegiate season ranked number one in the AMCC league standings with 0.67 service aces per set and number six in assists per set.

Hilbert College, located in suburban Hamburg, N.Y., south of Buffalo, is a private four-year college founded in 1957 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition. With nearly 1,100 students, Hilbert is a dynamic Western New York college that offers career-focused majors, including one of the top criminal justice programs in the region, and more than 50 minors and concentrations. The college’s engaging, student-centered campus community offers numerous leadership, internship, and service learning opportunities from which students launch successful careers while making positive changes in their communities. The Hilbert Blueprint promotes a well-rounded student experience over four years – starting with the Foundations Seminar in the freshman year, followed by Sophomore Service, Junior Symposium, and culminating with the Senior Capstone. Hilbert has expanded its academic offerings with the college’s first graduate programs and new Accelerated Degree Programs geared to adult learners.